Trimmer



G. PRODROMOS ET AL TRIMMER.

April 13, 1937.

Fiied June 7, 1935 grwcm bom 1 -1&

Geo ge, roazra 7770.5,

Marooa Bad/"011105,

Gum/mug Patented Apr. 133, i937 STE I 2,077,261 TRIMIMER George Prodromos and Marcus Prodromos, Winston-Salem, N.

Application June 7, 1935, Serial No. 25,524

7 Claims.

This invention relates to trimmers and the object of the invention is to provide means whereby different trimming cutters may be easily and expeditiously mounted upon and removed from the machine shaft without the use of special tools of any kind.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel means for latching a cutter and its guard disk in operative position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a latching means for holding the cutter and guard in assembled relation and which will prevent any accidental displacement of the parts during operation of the machine.

We accomplish the above and other objects of the invention, which will be apparent as the description proceeds, by means of the construction shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section through a Good- 20 year machine provided with our invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through a Landis or similar type of machine provided with our invention; and

Figure 3 is a plan of the U-shaped holding key;

25 and Figure 4 is a bottom plan of the guard disk showing the retaining means.

On the drawing, in which like reference characters refer to like parts on all the views thereof,

30 in Fig. 1, l9 indicates the conventional shaft provided with the usual reduced cutter receiving shank l l of the Goodyear type of machine. The shank is provided with the usual screw receiving socket l2 for a retaining screw. It has been found 35 that if a latching element of the type shown and claimed in our prior Patent No. 2,028,686 is mounted in this screw threaded socket, there is insufiicient space for the spring which holds the cutter against its guard disk to be operatively 40 effective at all times, and therefore the object of this invention is to provide a construction in which this objection is obviated.

Keyed to the shaft ill by means of set screws is the abutment collar it, which serves as a means 45 for limiting the forward movement of the sliding collar It. The collar I4 is internally screw threaded, as shown at l5, to receive the screw threaded portion iii of the cutter protector ll.

Between the abutment collar l3 and the protector 50 ii is the spring it which retains the cutter protector in its forward position. The protector is formed with a shank is between the screw threaded portion and the protector teeth, thus increasing its length over that of the conventional pro- 55 tector. On the inside of the protector is the abutment collar against which the inner end of the cutter 2i abuts.

The cutter is provided with a sleeve 22, the spring 23 being positioned between this sleeve and the shaft head, as shown. It is to be noted that, since the cutter protector is provided with the extension shank Hi, the space for the spring 23 is materially increased over'that of the similar space in present day constructions.

Our improved retaining and latching means 24 for the guard disk 25 consists of a screw threaded shank 26 which seats in the socket l2 of the shaft shank and is formed with a thick collar 2! of the same diameter as the shaft shank. The upstanding transverse head 28 of the latching screw may be of the form of either modification disclosed in our patent previously referred; to, that is, it must be of such size and shape that it will pass through a similarly shaped opening in the guard disk. Since the usual shaft shank is formed with projections, the collar is formed with an annular recess 29 for receiving these projections, so that the collar may be seated firmly without tilting against the shaft.

The guard disk 25 is provided with projecting pins 30, preferably four in number, which are received between the teeth of the cutter, thereby preventing relative rotation of these parts.

The opening 3| in the guard disk is sufliciently large to permit the head 28 of the latching screw to pass therethrough, so that, in assembling the parts, the disk may be passed over the screw head, whereupon relative rotation of the parts will effect the latching operation. It has also been found desirable to provide a U-shaped key 32 which when driven under the head of the latching screw provides a tight frictional engagement between the parts, thus eliminating any danger of relative rotation between the guard disk and the latching screw with consequent dislodgement of the guard disk from the latching screw during operation of the machine. The screw is a left hand screw, thus preventing its becoming unscrewed during the rotative operation of the shaft and cutter.

It is to be noted that the thickened collar on the screw head not only provides the required additional length for shaft shank necessitated by the lengthened cutter guard and spring, but also, since it abuts against the shaft when the latching screw is screwed into the socket, it constitutes a firm, substantially integral portion of the shaft shank so that there can be no wobbling of the parts during operation of the machine.

In the form of our invention shown in Fig. 2, the conventional shaft has a reduced tapered cutter receiving shank Ha provided with the screw threaded socket 12a. It has been found that the use of a retaining screw with a thickened collar 26, such as is shown in Fig. 1 does not provide a satisfactory assembly with a shaft having a tapered shank, since the collar is larger in diameter than the head of the tapered shank and the seating of the same does not constitute a firm assembly. Therefore, for machines having a tapered shank on the shaft, it has been found desirable to provide a sleeve 40 having an external surface in the form of a cylinder and internal surface which conforms to'the tapered shank.

This sleeve is provided with a flange 4| which rests against the shaft, and isof such length that it extends beyond the shaft shank, thereby providing the necessary space for the spring 23. The sleeve is provided at its outer end with an annular recess 42 for the collar 26a of the retaining screw. The other parts of the construction shown in Fig. 2 are identical with those shown in Fig. 1 and described in connection with the construction therein shown.

It will thus be seen that in this form of our invention the same result is attained as in the form shown in Fig. 1, namely a prolongation of the space for the location of the screw 23, a firm interlocking of the parts and a simple and easily assembled protector, and cutter and guard disk combination.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a trimmer, the combination with a shaft, a cutter protector on said shaft having a shank and protector teeth and extending beyond the end of said shaft, means for increasing the effective length of said shaft, said means comprising an element removably mounted on said shaft and extending therebeyond to a point substantially in line with the ends of the protector teeth, a cutter carried by said means, a guard disk in advance of said cutter, and means for latching said guard disk to said shaft, said last named means including an element mounted on said shaft and extending through an opening in said guard disk.

2. In a trimmer, a shaft, a cutter protector having a shank, a guard disk, means for removably mounting said cutter protector and said guard disk on said shaft, said means including an elongated element detachably connected to said shaft and having a head constructed and arranged to be passed through an opening in said guard disk,

gimme a thick collar on said means seated on the end of said shaft, and a cutter having a sleeve surrounding said collar.

3. The construction as set forth in claim 2 wherein there is an abutment on the interior of said cutter protector against which said cutter abuts for limiting the inward movement of the cutter relatively to the cutter protector.

4. The construction as set forth in claim 2 wherein the cutter is provided with cutter teeth and the inner face of the disk is provided with projections, the construction being such that when the parts are in assembled relation, the projections will be positioned between the cutter teeth.

5. In a trimmer, the combination with a shaft having a main portion and a reduced end, a cutter protector mounted on said shaft, said protector having a shank and protector teeth extending outwardly therefrom, an abutment on the interior of the protector, means on said shaft for increasing the effective length of said shaft, said means comprising an element detachably connected to said shaft, a cutter carried by said means, said cutter engaging said abutment to limit the inward movement thereof relatively to said protector, a guard disk in advance of said cutter, a spring positioned between the cutter and the main portion of the shaft for holding said cutter against the guard, and means for detachably connecting said guard disk tosaid shaft.

6. In a trimmer, the combination with a shaft having a reduced end, and provided with a socket, a cutter protector having a shank mounted on said shaft and extending beyond the end thereof, means for increasing the effective length of the shaft, said means comprising a sleeve mounted on said shaft and extending beyond the end thereof to a point substantially in line with the end of the protector, a cutter carried by said sleeve, a guard disk in advance of said cutter, and means for latching the guard disk to said shaft, said last named means including an elongated portion seated in said socket and a head portion passing through an opening in said disk.

'7. The construction as set forth in claim 6 wherein said last named means includes a collar seated on the sleeve when the parts are in assembled relation.

GEORGE PRODROMOS. MARCUS PRODROMOS.

Lil 

